(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multifunctional apparatus and data processing method for processing entered data by a variety of methods.
(b) Related Art
The application of digital techniques to copiers has not only made it possible to use a copier for simple copying purposes but has also led to the rapid development of multifunctional apparatuses equipped with a printer function for printing output data from personal computers, a scanner function for supplying a personal computer with an image that has been read, and a facsimile transmission/reception function.
A multifunctional apparatus of this type has a network interface for interfacing a network and thus makes it possible for the multifunctional machine to be shared by a plurality of users via computers connected to the network. By thus allowing a multifunctional machine having various functions to be shared by a plurality of users, it is possible to reduce the floor area occupied by equipment in an office and to use the equipment with greater efficiency.
In a conventional multifunctional machine, however, the copier function, printer function and scanner or facsimile function are merely combined and the machine is not necessarily easy for the user to use.
For example, in a situation where a plurality of users direct printing operations simultaneously, the printouts of the jobs printed are stacked in the paper drop tray. When the user goes to the machine to pick up his or her own printout at the end of a printing operation, therefore, the user must take the trouble to find his or her printout.
Further, in a case where a user directs a printing operation and causes a job to be printed but leaves the printout in the drop tray for a long period of time or forgets to pick up the printout, the drop tray becomes full of printing paper constituting printouts and it takes considerable time for the user to find his or her own printout. There are also occasions where the user cannot find his or her own printout because another person has mistakenly taken it away. These difficulties can lead to serious problems when information requiring confidentiality is printed out or output by facsimile transmission.
One attempt to eliminate these difficulties is to shift the paper drop tray job by job to make it easy to distinguish the division of one job from another. Another is to allocate each bin of a sorter to an individual job. However, these attempts do not provide a comprehensive solution because the paper drop trays and the bins of the sorter become full quickly when a large number of users share the copier. In particular, when document information or the like is not confidential, the copier executes printing operations one after another. As a consequence, a plurality of jobs become mixed in the drop tray and, as a result, it is difficult for a user to find his or her own job quickly.
In recent years hard disk drives and semiconductor memory devices have been provided with greater capacity and lowered in price. This has been accompanied by lower cost per unit of storage capacity. Some copiers employ a method in which a document image or output information that is described in Page Description Language (referred to as xe2x80x9cPDLxe2x80x9d below) is converted to image data, the image data is compressed and stored temporarily on a hard disk drive (HDD) or dynamic memory (DRAM), etc., and the image data is output in one batch, while being decompressed, when image data equivalent to a plurality of pages or plurality of copies has been stored.
In a copier of this type, the time needed to develop output information, which is described in PDL, into a visible image differs greatly depending upon the content of the data. As a result, various functions such as a copier function, facsimile function, printer function and scanner function can be executed simultaneously in apparent terms and it is possible to utilize the printer and scanner functions efficiently. More specifically, when image data of a plurality of pages or plurality of copies has been stored in the above-mentioned copier, the image data is output in one batch while being decompressed. This makes it possible to achieve parallel operation in which local copying utilizing a scanner and printer is carried out even while PDL data is being received from a personal computer. The data received from the personal computer can be printed following the end of local copying.
In a case where a multifunctional machine is used exclusively by a specific user, it is possible to use the machine as a printer or scanner efficiently by the above-described method of storing received data temporarily. However, in a case where a plurality of users share one multifunctional machine, merely storing received data temporarily and then outputting the data in response to the end of another job does assure that the machine will always function effectively. Thus there is demand for the construction of an information processing system that is easy to use.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional apparatus and a data processing method devoid of the aforementioned difficulties.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional apparatus and a data processing method through which data can be output and distinguished on a per-user basis.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional apparatus and a data processing method in which a plurality of items of data relating to different jobs can be handled in one batch.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional apparatus and a data processing method that make it possible to protect the confidentiality of data that is to be output.
Yet object of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional apparatus and a data processing method that make it possible to prevent the mixing of hard copy outputs of entered data.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.